


Holiday Vacation

by ironspydr



Series: A Day in the Lives [6]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: New York City, Vacations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 02:41:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15764955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironspydr/pseuds/ironspydr
Summary: Old request. Jeremy's never been to New York, and the squad decides to change that.





	Holiday Vacation

“Are we there yet?”

“Rich, you know we aren’t. You asked that four minutes ago,” Christine said, her head turned slightly so the boy in question could hear her from behind. 

Eight teenagers in a bus on a trip to New York City for the holidays had already been proven to be a bad idea. Rich had asked if they were there yet seventeen times so far, Jeremy had eaten half the snacks, Chloe and Brooke had only let the group listen to pop music--which Jake had encouraged--Jenna had taken up the cigarette lighter to charge her phone, and Michael had gotten a headache trying to drive them all safely. Christine had kept her cool, however, and was probably the reason they hadn’t crashed. Yet.

“I’m just excited, Chris,” Rich whined, Jake being the only one able to see his pouty face all the way in the back of the van. They all knew he was excited. He’d said it three times, and his lisp had gotten more prominent as a result of the stimulation. Plus, they were all excited. 

They’d decided over Winter break that they’d take a short vacation--no adults allowed--to the city. It was Christine’s idea, as she’d mentioned a sale on Broadway tickets for the holiday season and wanted to see a show for Christmas. They’d all agreed it would be a great idea to stay for a few days. They’d managed to convince their parents--though Jake didn’t really have anyone NOT to give him permission--and the plan was soon underway. 

“I know!” Brooke turned the music on her bluetooth down. “We can all say what we’re most excited about doing when we get there! That’ll be super fun, right?” 

Jenna nodded next to Christine. “Yeah!” she agreed. She even put her phone down beside her leg to pay attention. “You go first, then.”

Brooke hummed loudly in an ‘I’m thinking’ way. “I really want to check out the shops,” she said. “Me and Chloe have extra cash for whatever’s hot in fashion. Right, Chlo?”

“Mhm,” Chloe agreed. “We’re hitting up every outlet store. It’s going to be fabulous.” She laughed with Brooke before speaking up again. “What about you, Jen?”

Jenna answered immediately. “The LEGO Store always has holiday exclusive sets,” she said. “I’ve been collecting them for a while now. And I just got a new camera, so I’ll be taking every picture. You guys better pose for me.”

A “Yeah!” was heard from the back left--Jake. He always loved posing for Jenna’s photographs. They always turned out really artistic and “dope” as he put it. Jenna smiled and took the opportunity to pass the conversation his way. “Jake, what do you wanna do?”

He sat up straighter. “I’m gonna eat every meal at Sbarro’s!”

“You already do that, Dill Pickle,” Rich laughed, his best friend looking back at him angrily. 

“Fine,” Jake said. “I’m going ice skating. It’s gonna be boss. Who wants in?”

Rich raised his hand immediately while the others made noises of uncertainty.

“It’s okay, take your time,” Jake permissed. 

Rich piped up. “I’m looking forward to going ice skating with my best bro!” 

“That’s new, Rich, you just decided on that,” Christine pointed out. “What were you already excited about?”

“No, me and Jake have been planning this for a week! Rockefeller Center, Tuesday night, 7:00, we have ‘All Star’ by Smash Mouth requested on the music queue, and that’s when we make our entrance onto the ice!” Rich was extremely pleased with himself.

“Aw, yeah!” Jake fist bumped Rich and Brook laughed while Jenna mumbled a soft “Wish I got that on camera.”

Brooke took leadership of the conversation again. “We all know what Christine is excited about,” she teased. “But you never told us which show you’re seeing!”

“Oh!” Christine realized. “You’re right! It’s my favorite! I’m seeing Wicked! It’s about--”

“You’ve told us what it’s about, Chris,” Jenna butt in. “Like, a million times.”

“Sorry,” Christine said, but everyone knew she wasn't. They didn’t mind her ranting about her favorite things. They knew it was an outlet for her.

Michael spoke up from the driver’s seat, one of the few times he’d talked the whole ride so far. “I’m actually excited just to ride the subway again, honestly. It’s an...experience. So many cultures at once, all cramped together in hell.”

There were a few collective “Uh…”s from behind him. 

“Fine, I didn’t judge you guys’ stuff, but feel free to think mine’s weird.” He was kidding, of course. He’d expected that sort of reaction. 

“I think that’s super cool!” Jeremy said, putting down a bag of gummy worms. 

“Thanks, Jer,” Michael laughed. He could always count on his best friend to have his back in these sorts of things. 

“That leaves you, Jeremy!” Brooke said. “What’s your favorite thing to do in the city?”

“Oh,” he replied softly. “I’ve never--This is my first visit, actually…” 

A chorus of voices--”No!”, “Really?”, “No way!”, “That’s sad!”--rang out. 

“I’m sorry!” Jeremy retorted. “My dad never had the money for a hotel!”

“That’s why my parents are paying for all of this, dude!” Jake called. “They don’t know they are, but what’s a few thousand bucks gonna do to ‘em?” He’d pretty much accepted that although his mother and father always left him copious amounts of cash, they’d never really cared enough to be around. It was terribly heartbreaking at first, but now it was the group’s number one way to get money to fund their adventures. Something good out of something bad.

“I’ve still never been,” Jeremy said quietly. 

Michael, his eyes on the road, put his right hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. “It’s cool. You’re gonna love it, Jer. There’s something for everybody.”

That made Jeremy feel better. “Great,” he said. “Then next time I’ll have something to say.”

“Yeah!” Brooke and Christine called simultaneously. 

“What do you think you want to do?” Jenna asked, back on her phone for only a moment before putting it away again. 

“Well, I dunno,” Jeremy trailed off as Michael’s hand went back to the steering wheel. “I kinda just want to see Times Square, you know?”

“It’s really pretty,” Chloe assured. “Especially at night. My dad and me used to sit on the red bleachers and watch the people walk by and the ads change. Sometimes you get caught on one of the ads that uses a camera and you show up on the side of a building.”

“Oh, wow…” Jeremy didn’t know what to say. It was a little overwhelming. Plus, he’d forgotten about the large amount of people who would be everywhere. It was even more during Christmas time. Vacations like theirs and last minute shopping increased the crowds dramatically. 

“You’ll like it!” Rich shouted. “There’s a really huge Toys R Us and a big M&Ms store and—“

“Don’t ruin the experience, Rich!” Christine chastised. 

“Sorry, bro,” Rich said, his smile unfaltering. “You’ll have to see for yourself.”

—————

Jake—well, his parents—had paid for four rooms at the Hotel Pennsylvania. It was right across the street from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station, which was easy access to restaurants. There was a Sbarro’s down the block near a McDonald’s, and the subway station wasn’t very far. It was in a nice location. 

The group had checked in and set their things in their rooms before all piling into one to discuss what they’d be doing their first night. 

“I think this is a perfect opportunity to show Jeremy Times Square,” Christine offered. 

Michael nodded. “Yeah, that should be your first experience. It really sets the New York mood.”

Jeremy gulped, regret pooling in his abdomen. “What about all the people?”

“Don’t worry about it. You’ve got seven of us to defend you,” Jenna said, revealing her new camera from her bag. “And I want to get to picture taking.”

“I guess,” Jeremy said hesitantly. He looked at Michael. 

“It’ll be okay, Jer. It’s overwhelming at first, but once you see the lights, you’ll be caught up in those instead.” Michael clapped him on the back. 

“So we’re going?” Jake bounced excitedly. 

“Yeah,” Christine answered. “Everyone has their room keys, right?”

Eight hands scrambled for a moment before each producing a small brown card. 

“And your MetroPasses?”

More scrambling. Eight yellow cards. 

“Great! Let’s go!”

————-

Jeremy wasn’t a fan of the train. He thought he could appreciate it since Michael did, but he hadn’t even gotten a seat and some sweaty man almost barfed on him. Then he’d nearly missed the stop because he didn’t hear Chloe say they needed to get off. Luckily, he saw Jake above the other heads and followed him off, barely missing getting closed in. 

Swiping their cards to exit the station and climbing up the stairs to the street, Jeremy coughed. “That wasn’t fun at all, Michael.”

“Hey, it’s a complicated pleasure. And some rides are better than others.” He shrugged. “Once I was alone with just my mom on the way to Coney Island. The whole thing was empty. It was surreal.”

“I’d take that over homeless smelly guys any day,” Jeremy whined. “Did you see him? He almost—“ he cut himself off as his head popped over the edge of the stairwell and he saw the first bit of artificial light shining down. 

“Is that—“ 

“Yep!” Chloe said, pulling him up the rest of the steps. “Hurry up.”

They huddled around a pole out of the way of people trying to come in and out of the subway station.

“Take it in, dude,” Michael said, smiling and watching his friend’s face. 

Jeremy was speechless. It was so bright! His eyes hurt looking at it all, but he didn’t dare turn away. It was amazing. Somehow it felt more comfortable to see that the shining billboards were ads for things he recognized. Pepsi, Apple, Rolex. It made the whole thing seem less foreign. The buildings were all taller than he’d ever seen, and he gave up trying to count the floors to one of them. 

The street was decorated for Christmas, which the Jewish boy couldn’t even be annoyed about. It was all pretty. The red and green of Christmas never appealed to him—he liked the blue and white of Hanukkah. But this was beautiful. 

What he thought was really beautiful was the way the colorful advertisements shone on the fresh blanket of snow on the ground and on the buildings’ ledges. The snow glowed and popped. It was unlike anything he’d ever expected. 

He was brought out of his musings when he realized everyone was staring at him. 

“So?” Brooke said, eager. 

“Is it worth it?” Jake asked, grinning. 

Jeremy nodded, then nodded again as if confirming that he meant yes. 

“Told you you’d forget about the crowd,” Michael laughed. 

Jeremy reddened. “Thanks for reminding me, jerk!” He jokingly punched Michael’s arm and returned to marveling at the city lights.


End file.
